Recording drums in a (non-converted) barn: drums of hazard!

[MDV]

Had a helluva time.

Studio



House engineer



Drum room, from the outside



$%&# rockwool, give me 10 tonnes of hay. Also, very good for climbing on. You cant climb on Auralex.



Concrete sounds cr@p, 90% of the time. Find wood for nicer reflections.



Wood rattles and moves around,. Find rocks.



Place mics. Dont like. Move mics, find more wood for behind and infront and a rug for above. (Later and not pictured, I think)







Jacks cabin?



No. Marks control room!



Got a good sound, big and lively for some proper rock, with some balls. (its for a rock EP, not metal). In fact, we used rocks to make the drums rock by stopping the drums from rocking  :D

[JDC]

That dog looks familiar, didn't know you took this seriously :D http://youtu.be/862flaf857A

How's the room sounding? First photo made me think, that's going to be a nightmare!!!

[MDV]

Right off the bat - kinda cr@p, fulttery, overly bright. I'd normally track the drums at least with a local studio, but the available timings of the studio and band said otherwise.

But, with the 'treatment' we gave it what ended up getting back to the mics sounded pretty good. A little clangy, but noting some judicious EQ wont sort, good balance of 'tight' and 'big' in the low end and mids. Works well for the music - a good old fashioned hook based rock band, production style aimed somewhere between lyn skyn and COC.

It seems somehow fitting, right, good and True to record such a band in an old school, less meticulous way. Less precision, more vibe. I like.

Edit - I hadnt seen that vid; it rules.

[Keven]

rock is so much easier to produce than metal. it's more about energy and less about clinical precision.

[MDV]

Yes, very much so, from a technical perspective.

Among other reasons. In a rock band with a rock sound, all the instruments much more naturally fall into their own spaces. With metal, especially the detuned variety, the demand for spectral and dynamic territory is massive, with everything trying to be the biggest baddest thing in the mix, the balancing act required is far more merciless and delicate.

otoh, 'precise' is easy, after a fashion; its pretty clear whats precise and what isnt, whats viable and good enough and whats not. 'Energy' is much harder than precise, imo, because its a different sort of judgment call, much blurrier and taste-dependent. Metal is more sounds tight = right, rock is more feels right = right. Dont think that the latter is easier than the former!

[nfe]

rock is so much easier to produce than metal. it's more about energy and less about clinical precision.

So is all good metal. Though, like MDV, I think the energy is far, far harder to create and capture than precision is.

[Madsakre]

rock is so much easier to produce than metal. it's more about energy and less about clinical precision.

$%&# it. I play rock n' roll from now on. Energy means more to me than how high you turn your noise gate :S

[MDV]

rock is so much easier to produce than metal. it's more about energy and less about clinical precision.

So is all good metal.

Truth.

I'm coming to see precision as a highly variable requisite and an asthetic in and of itself, lately. Less 'needs to be utterly precise', more 'how precise feels right for the music', in addition to all the other things that affect the energy and vibe of a song; precision is another dimension in that. And we're back to feels right = right, and its all harder, taste, judgement call, capturing the right performance thats right because its 'wrong' in the right ways. Even for very complex metal.

I mean, midi is precise. And boring.

[JacksonRR]

This is exactly why I've been getting back into creating rhythm riffs that just make me want to move instead of impress myself with some new trick I learned or got faster or tighter at. I've been slacking on my lead practice, but I don't care anymore at this point. It was very important, but now it's boring to practice and I still end up only doing smallish flutters of very fast stuff when I solo. The best metal, to me, gets you out of your own head for awhile and makes you feel a bit taller and with more energy when you're playing it or listening to it. Can't eat just salt all the time. Need more flavor.

edit: That looks like hell to record in, dude. Fun, but frustrating. Post something when it's time for a listen will you?